Plug-in connector for printed circuits

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a plug connector ( 1 ) for printed circuit boards ( 70 ), comprising a number of contact elements ( 30 ), where the contact elements ( 30 ) each have two connection ends, where one connection end is in the form of an insulation displacement contact ( 31 ) for connecting wires and the other connection end is in the form of a tuning fork contact ( 32 ) for making contact with pads on a printed circuit board ( 70 ), and a plastic housing into which the insulation displacement contacts ( 31 ) of the contact elements ( 30 ) can be inserted, where at least one lower edge ( 40 ) of the insulation displacement contact ( 31 ) is supported on the plastic housing, so that the contact elements ( 30 ) are held captively in the plastic housing when connection forces act on the insulation displacement contacts ( 31 ), the plastic housing comprising at least one chamber-like region, and the tuning fork contacts ( 32 ) being fully accommodated in the longitudinal direction by the plastic housing, where the contact element ( 30 ) is of two-part design, with a first portion ( 30   a ) of the contact element ( 30 ) comprising the insulation displacement contact ( 31 ) and the second portion ( 30   b ) comprising the tuning fork contact ( 32 ), a respective contact limb ( 34, 35 ) being arranged on the two portions ( 30   a,    30   b ) of the contact element ( 30 ), with the two contact limbs ( 34, 35 ) forming an isolating contact ( 36 ).

This application is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/547,453, which isa National Stage Application of PCT/EP2005/002968 filed 19 Mar. 2005,which claims benefit of Serial No. 10 2004 017 605.1, filed 7 Apr. 2004in Germany and which applications are incorporated herein by reference.To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of theabove disclosed applications.

FIELD

The invention relates to a plug connector for printed circuit boards andalso to a distributor connection module produced therewith.

BACKGROUND

DE 38 28 904 C2 discloses a plug connector for printed circuit boards,comprising contact elements which are electrically conductivelyconnected to the conductor tracks on the printed circuit board andcomprising a plug socket which is provided with mating contacts, wherethe contact elements are in the form of electrically conductive flatmetal strips which are provided with angled strip portions to passthrough receiving openings produced on the printed circuit board, areused to make contact with one of the conductor tracks, are electricallyconductively connected to the conductor tracks and are fitted on an edgeregion of the printed circuit board, where the plug socket is providedwith a receiving opening for the purpose of plugging it onto the edgeregion of the printed circuit board and with the mating contacts for thepurpose of making contact with the metal strips, each metal strip havingtwo angled resilient strip portions, provided with longitudinal slotsand with lateral latching lugs for engaging behind the printed circuitboard, for the purpose of putting it through and latching it into twopassage holes which have been made in the region of the conductor trackof the printed circuit board and serve as receiving openings. Thedrawback of the known plug connector is the relative complexity ofmaking contact with the printed circuit board.

DE 100 29 649 C2 discloses a distributor connection module fortelecommunications and data technology, comprising a housing in whichinput and output contacts for connecting lines or wires are arrangedsuch that they are externally accessible, where the housing is designedto have a cavity which contains a printed circuit board havingfunctional elements which is supported in the housing, the functionalelements being arranged electrically between the input and outputcontacts, and the input contacts and the output contacts being arrangedon opposite end faces of the housing. In this arrangement, the input andoutput contacts may be in the form of insulation displacement contactswhich are each designed to have a fork-like contact which can be used toproduce a force-fitting electrical connection for the functionalelements. The printed circuit board has contact pads which arepreferably on the top and bottom of the printed circuit board. Theseforce-fitting connections are much more tolerant to production andassembly tolerances than solder connections. This means that contact canbe made simultaneously with all of the insulation displacement contactsby latching the fork-like contacts onto the contact pads. In addition,this type of contact allows simple disassembly, for example if it isnecessary to replace a faulty printed circuit board. To produce thedistributor connection module, the printed circuit board with thefunctional elements is pushed into a first housing portion, and a secondhousing portion, carrying the input contacts, is latched on. To thisend, the insulation displacement contacts are fixed to the housing,whereas the tuning fork contacts are free. Since large forces may arisewhen the insulation displacement contacts are subsequently connected up,it is additionally possible to latch a plastic-like retaining or supportelement onto the printed circuit board over the entire width of theprinted circuit board, which fixes the fork-like contacts on the printedcircuit board.

In addition, the printed document discloses the practice of arranging arespective externally accessible isolating contact between an inputcontact and an output contact, the isolating contact being arranged onthe bottom of the printed circuit board. This results in a relativelycomplex assembly operation, since the isolating contacts need to beclamped between the printed circuit board and the housing.

DE 101 11 571 A1 discloses an electrical contact element for a plugconnector arrangement. The contact element has an insulationdisplacement region at one end and a tuning fork contact at the otherend. To increase the elasticity of the tuning fork contact, thecontact-making arms are connected directly to the lower region of alateral connecting piece of the double insulation piercing connectingdevices and are then bent at an angle toward the center of the contactelement, so that an extended spring movement results.

DE 38 06 263 A1 and DE 199 45 412 A1 each disclose a plug connector forprinted circuit boards, comprising a number of contact elements, wherethe contact elements each have two connection ends, where one connectionend is in the form of an insulation displacement contact for connectingwires and the other connection end is in the form of a tuning forkcontact for making contact with pads on a printed circuit board, and aplastic housing into which the insulation displacement contacts of thecontact elements can be inserted, where the insulation displacementcontact and the tuning fork contact are arranged so as to be twistedwith respect to one another and at least one lower edge of theinsulation displacement contact is supported on the plastic housing, sothat the contact elements are held captively in the plastic housing whenconnection forces act on the insulation displacement contacts, theplastic housing comprising at least one chamber-like region, and thetuning fork contacts being fully accommodated in the longitudinaldirection by the plastic housing.

SUMMARY

Against the background of this known prior art, the invention is basedon the technical problem of providing a plug connector which can be usedto construct a distributor connection module having isolating contactswhich is easier to manufacture from a production point of view and alsoof providing an associated distributor connection module.

In this regard, the contact element is of two-part design, with a firstportion of the contact element comprising the insulation displacementcontact and the second portion comprising the tuning fork contact, arespective contact limb being arranged on the two portions of thecontact element, with the two contact limbs forming an isolating contactin the assembled state. As a result, the isolating contact is integratedinto the plug connector. This simplifies the assembly operation for adistributor connection module considerably, since only the assembledplug connector needs to be pushed onto the printed circuit board.Separate assembly of the isolating contacts is not necessary, since theyare formed automatically when the plug connector is assembled. Inaddition, the plug connector can be fitted with cable wires even beforeit is pushed onto the printed circuit board, since the insulationdisplacement contacts are supported in the housing and can thus absorbthe connection forces.

In this case, the isolating contact is preferably in a form such that itcan be accessed from the same end as the insulation displacementcontacts. For this purpose, the contact limb on the first portion of thelower edge of the insulation displacement contact is bent upward in thedirection of the insulation displacement contact, whereas the contactlimb of the second portion runs in the opposite direction to the tuningfork contact.

In one preferred embodiment, the contact limbs are in a form such thatthey form a contact region and an insertion region, with the insertionof an isolating connector into the insertion region moving the contactlimbs in the contact region away from one another, the isolatingconnector not touching the contact region. This ensures that wear on theusually plastic isolating connector does not soil the contact region,which would reduce the contact quality.

In another preferred embodiment, the inner sides of the chamber-likeregion have ribs arranged on them which define guides for the tuningfork contacts, the contact regions of the tuning fork contactsprotruding beyond the ribs. In this arrangement, the tuning forkcontacts are fully accommodated in the longitudinal direction by theplastic housing. As a result, all tuning fork contacts are oriented in adefined manner with respect to one another and can be pushed onto theprinted circuit board more easily, since there is no possibility of thetuning fork contacts canting.

In another preferred embodiment, the ribs are beveled in the frontregion, which simplifies the plugging operation.

In another preferred embodiment, the insulation displacement contact andthe tuning fork contact are arranged so as to be twisted with respect toone another in the region of 45° with respect to one another.

In another preferred embodiment, the plastic housing is of two-partdesign, with the housing portions being able to be latched to oneanother. One advantage of the two-part housing is the ease ofdisassembly, which means that plastic and metal parts can very easily beremoved for recycling purposes. Assembly is a very simple matterinvolving the first housing portion being fitted with the first portionof the contact element, and the second housing portion being fitted withthe second portion of the contact element, and the two housing portionsthen being latched to one another.

In another preferred embodiment, the plug connector is produced withwire routing eyes.

In another preferred embodiment, the outer side of the plug connectorhas latch elements arranged on it which can be used to latch the plugconnector to a further housing which accommodates a printed circuitboard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to apreferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of a plug connector for printedcircuit boards,

FIG. 2 a shows a cross section through the assembled plug connector, thesection being taken between two clamping bars,

FIG. 2 b shows a cross section along the sectional line P-P,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective rear view of the plug connector,

FIG. 4 shows a perspective exploded view of a distributor connectionmodule, and

FIG. 5 shows a perspective illustration of the assembled distributorconnection module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the plug connector 1. The plugconnector 1 comprises a first housing portion 10, a second housingportion 20 and a multiplicity of contact elements 30. The contactelement 30 respectively comprises a first portion 30 a and a secondportion 30 b. The first housing portion 10 is produced with clampingbars 11, wire routing eyes 12 and latching lugs 13. The second housingportion 20 is produced with latching receptacles 21 and latching lugs22. In addition, that portion of the second housing portion 20 whichfaces the printed circuit board forms a chamber-like region whose innersides have ribs 23 arranged on them at the top and bottom, which can beseen in part in FIG. 3, with the ribs 23 being beveled in the frontregion. The bevel allows the plug connector to be pushed onto theprinted circuit board 70 more easily (see FIG. 4). The contact elements30 respectively have an insulation displacement contact 31 and a tuningfork contact 32, with the insulation displacement contact 31 and thetuning fork contact 32 being twisted through approximately 45° withrespect to one another. In this arrangement, the insulation displacementcontact 31 is associated with the first portion 30 a of the contactelement 30, and the tuning fork contact 32 is associated with the secondportion 30 b of the contact element 30. The tuning fork contactrespectively has two rounded, inwardly curved contact regions 33. Theinsulation displacement contacts 31 on the contact elements 30 areplugged into receptacles between the clamping bars 11, the latter beingmechanically fixed. Arranged on the insulation displacement contact 31is a first contact limb 34, which extends from the lower edge 40 of theinsulation displacement contact 31 in an upward curve in the directionof the insulation displacement contact 31. Similarly, a second contactlimb 35 extends from the lower edge 42 of the tuning fork contact 32,but this second contact limb runs in the opposite direction. The twocontact limbs 34, 35 together form an isolating contact 36, which isshown in FIG. 2 a. For the purposes of assembly, the tuning forkcontacts 32 are pushed into the second housing portion 20. In addition,the insulation displacement contacts 31 are pushed into the firsthousing portion 10, with the contact limb 34 entering a second lateralcavity in the first housing portion 10 in the process. Next, the secondhousing portion 20 is latched onto the first housing portion 10, withthe latching lugs 13 engaging in the latching receptacles 21. In thiscase, the contact limb 35 likewise enters the cavity and forms theisolating contact 36 together with the contact limb 34.

This assembled state is shown in FIGS. 2 a, b and 3.

In this case, FIG. 2 a shows a cross section through the plug connector1, the interface being situated between two clamping bars. In thisarrangement, the two contact limbs 34, 35, which are in resilientcontact with one another, form an isolating contact 36. This isolatingcontact 36 has an insertion region 37 and a contact region 38. In thiscase, it can be seen that the two contact limbs 34, 35 touch in thecontact region 38 and form an electrical contact. As a result, theinsulation displacement contact 31 is electrically connected to itsassociated tuning fork contact 32. The first housing portion 10 has aninsertion opening 14 for a plug connector (not shown) which can beinserted into the insertion region 37 of the isolating contact 36. Thisbends the two contact limbs 34, 35 apart and breaks the electricalcontact between the insulation displacement contact 31 and the tuningfork contact 32. In this arrangement, the isolating connector is of sucha length that it does not touch the contact limbs 34, 35 in the contactregion 38. This prevents wear on the isolating connector from impairingthe contact in the contact region 38. Situated between the two lowerregions of the insulation displacement contact 31 and of the tuning forkcontact 32 is a slotted clamping bar on which the lower edge 40 of theinsulation displacement contact 31 is supported, the tuning fork contact32 being situated in the slot (FIG. 2 b). As can be seen, the tuningfork contact 32 rests on the second housing portion 20 and is clampedfrom above by the first housing portion 10 (FIG. 2 a). Between the loweredge 40 of the insulation displacement contact 31 and the tuning forkcontact 32 is an air gap 41, so that the electrical contact between thetwo is made exclusively via the contact region 38.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a distributor connection module 80for telecommunications and data technology with the inventive plugconnector 1. The distributor connection module 80 likewise comprises afirst housing portion 50 and a second housing portion 60 which can belatched to one another. The distributor connection module 80 contains aprinted circuit board 70. The second housing portion 60 is produced withtwo semicircular clamping elements 61 which can be used to latch thedistributor connection module 80 onto rods (not shown). For the purposeof passing through a ground connection, the clamping elements 61 areslotted, so that an annular ground contact, which is arranged on theprinted circuit board 70, projects through the slots 62 and makeselectrical contact with the metal rods. The first housing portion 50comprises clamping bars 51 and latching lugs 52 which engage in latchingreceptacles in the second housing portion 60. In this arrangement, theclamping bars 51 are of different width, which means that the crosstalkbetween contact pairs is reduced. Arranged between the clamping bars 51are contact elements (likewise not shown) which are in the form ofinsulation displacement contacts in the region of the clampings bars 51and in the form of tuning fork contacts toward the printed circuit board70. Normally, these contact elements are identical to the contactelements 30 in this case. If, by contrast, no isolating contact isrequired, then the insulation displacement contacts and the tuning forkcontact may be of integral design. In principle, the housing portion 50may be similar to the plug connector 1 in this case. On the side walls,the second housing portion 60 has ventilation slots 63 produced in it,in order to dissipate the heat lost from the components on the printedcircuit board 70.

Finally, FIG. 5 shows the entire distributor connection module 80 withthe plug connector 1 latched in.

List of Reference Numerals

1 Plug connector

10 Housing portion

11 Clamping bars

12 Wire routing eyes

13 Latching lugs

14 Insertion opening

20 Housing portion

21 Latching receptacles

22 Latching lugs

23 Ribs

30 Contact elements

31 Insulation displacement contact

32 Tuning fork contact

33 Contact regions

34 Contact limb

35 Contact limb

36 Isolating contact

37 Insertion region

38 Contact region

39 Clamping bar

40 Lower edge

41 Air gap

42 Lower edge

50 Housing portion

51 Clamping bars

52 Latching lugs

60 Housing portion

61 Clamping elements

62 Slots

63 Ventilation slots

70 Printed circuit board

80 Distributor connection module

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A plug connector for printed circuit boards,comprising: a plurality of contact elements each having a first end anda second end, the first end forming an insulation displacement contactdefining a planar surface, each contact element including an abutmentportion that extends laterally relative to the planar surface of theinsulation displacement contact, the abutment portion being spaced fromthe insulation displacement contact; and a housing defining a pluralityof passages in which the contact elements are positioned, the housingdefining a plurality of shoulders, each shoulder laterally extendinginto one of the passages to support the abutment portion of therespective contact element against a connection force resulting frompressing a wire into the insulation displacement contact.
 12. The plugconnector of claim 11, wherein the housing including a first housingpart and a second housing part that is configured to latch to the firsthousing part, each housing part defining slots that align to form thepassages, the slots of the first housing part receiving the insulationdisplacement contacts, the shoulders extending into the slots of thesecond housing part.
 13. The plug connector of claim 12, wherein thesecond end of each contact element extends into the slots of the secondhousing part.
 14. The plug connector of claim 11, wherein the housing isformed from plastic.
 15. The plug connector of claim 11, wherein thehousing is configured to mount to a printed circuit board.
 16. The plugconnector of claim 11, wherein the housing includes two major sides andtwo minor sides extending between the major sides.
 17. The plugconnector of claim 16, wherein the insulation displacement contact ofeach contact element is arranged so as to be twisted about 45° relativeto the major sides of the housing.
 18. The plug connector of claim 16,wherein the housing is produced with wire routing eyes.
 19. The plugconnector of claim 18, wherein at least one wire routing eye is providedat one of the major sides of the housing.
 20. The plug connector ofclaim 16, wherein latch elements are arranged at an outer side of thehousing, the latch elements being configured to latch the plug connectorto a further housing which accommodates a printed circuit board.